


Ill Intensions

by Swashbuckler



Series: TLC (Trickster Loving Care) [1]
Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Fluff, Kindness, Parent-Child Relationship, Sick Character, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2019-03-28 07:00:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13898769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swashbuckler/pseuds/Swashbuckler
Summary: Not all of James' tricks are ill-intentioned. Sometimes they are just intended for the ill.





	Ill Intensions

**You:**  
Hey Dad - Mom’s sick (I think she has flu) and she’s stuck in bed. :( Would you be able to come over?  
Dad  
Daddio  
Doo doooo dad-oo doo  
Daaaaaaaaad  
Daaaaaaaaaaaaad  
Dad? 

Billy checked his phone again, but still no response. He chewed his tongue, glancing at the time at the top of the screen before shoving his phone into his back pocket and double checking his rucksack for the second time. _I don’t have to go to school today,_ he mused, zipping it back up. _I can’t, right? Not if Mom’s not well - I can’t just leave her._ He checked the time again - 8:42am. _C’mon, c’mon, please work._ He was pushing it now, he knew that, but… He clicked on his messaging app, dropping down onto the sofa as he began to type. 

**Meme Queen, Edgelord3000, Ralph Lorenzo:**  
Hey can you tell Jeffers that I can’t make it in today? Mom’s bedridden and I can’t just leave her home alo

A rhythmic knock of “shave and a haircut” against the door made Billy all but through himself at it, stumbling as he stood on his laces. He righted himself and eagerly knocked back twice before twisting the lock and yanking the door open. 

“Dad!” 

“Hey hey, kiddo,” James beamed, wrapping his arms around his son’s shoulders as Billy grabbed him around the middle and squeezed him tight. He popped a kiss to Billy’s forehead and patted his back. “How’re you, Billy?” 

“Running super late,” Billy grinned up as his dad, “and you suck at texting, by the way.”

“Hey, I wanted to get here as soon as I could,” James said indignantly, scrubbing his knuckles against the top of Billy’s head as he caught him in a playful headlock. “I didn’t want to keep you waiting.” Billy laughed, pushing at his dad’s stomach until James relented and released him. 

“I didn’t know if I needed to call school and tell them I couldn’t make it, though,” Billy said, sticking his tongue out, giggling as his dad retaliated, going cross-eyed to complete the look. “So I dawdled because I didn’t know if you’d got my message and I didn’t want to leave Mom by herself and-” Billy flapped his hands in mock frustration at James as he gave him a guilty smile.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said, raising his hands in surrender, “next time I’ll make sure to text you to tell you I’m coming,” James said, making a show of crossing his heart. 

“One whole text?” Billy asked, feigning shock. James nodded vigorously. 

“One whole text. Now-” his smile softened as Billy hitched his foot up against his knee while he leant against the wall, his loose lace in hand, “what’s up with Mom? You think she has flu?”

Billy nodded, looping his laces around his fingers and knotting them tightly. “She suddenly got all tired yesterday and said that she ached all over - she was nearly crying,” Billy explained, chewing his cheek. “It sorta happened out of nowhere. She’s still asleep and it’s nearly nine, and she never sleeps in.”

“I wouldn’t call sleeping in ‘til nine ‘sleeping in’,” James teased.

“Yeah, but she’s normally up by seven and yesterday and,” Billy shrugged, and James sighed and nodded. “You won’t get ill if you’re looking after Mom, will you?” 

James shook his head. “Me? No, no: I’m a good boy who’s had all his shots.”

“Did Uncle Piper make you get them?” Billy grinned knowingly as he trotted back to the sofa.

“Nope, Uncle Len, actually,” James said cheerfully as Billy shouldered his rucksack. “For a guy called ‘Cold’, he really hates us catching them. Go figure,” he said, spreading his hands wide. 

“‘Kay, good. Let me know how Mom is, okay? If you text me,” he said pointedly, “I’ll pick it up between classes.” 

“Sure thing, kid. Right, you’re gonna be okay walking to school by yourself? You don’t need me to take you there and give you a big kiss goodbye at the gate?” James asked sweetly and Billy burst out laughing.

“Don’t you dare!”

“Fine, fine,” James said, lip trembling as he sniffed loudly. “Reject my care and affections.” His offended expression didn’t last, however as he winked and pulled Billy into another hug. “You have fun today. Mom’ll be fine, I’ll look after her.” 

“Thanks, Dad.” 

“See ya later, Bill,” James said, waving Billy off with a giddy smile and shutting the door quietly behind him. 

“Right,” James murmured to himself, plopping himself with his back against the front door as he pulled off his shoes and set them neatly to the side. He exhaled slowly as his gaze settled on the only shut door in the apartment. “The doctor is in.” 

He got to his feet, shrugging off his jacket and dropping it on the back of the sofa as he passed. Tapping his knuckles lightly against the wood, James pushed the door open and padded inside. 

Mindy’s duvet had been hauled onto one side of the bed and - judging by the lump it had formed - she was cocooned within it. James smiled fondly down at Mindy, her nose poking out over the edge of her duvet nest, her black hair strewn across her face. He made to brush a stray strand out of her eyes, however before his fingertips had touched her cheek, she lurched, cough violently.

“It wasn’t me,” he said hastily, darting away from the bed with his hands raised. 

Mindy groaned through her coughing fit, eyes screwed shut. “Hey, James,” she croaked out finally, hand thumping against her chest. 

“Ooohoo, it is bad that you know it’s me from that,” James chuckled, crouching down and leaning his elbows on the edge of her bed. “How’re you feeling? That sounded nasty.” 

Mindy nodded, swallowing thickly. “Yup,” she agreed. She cracked open her eyes, squinting at James. 

“Hey.” 

“Hi,” James murmured with a little smiled, brushing her hair back from her face. Mindy let her eyes droop again, sinking back into her pillow.

“Mm, my muscles ache, my head feels like it’s on fire, and apparently my lungs want to esc-” she was cut off by another vicious coughing fit, choking and wheezing for air. James made to get up but Mindy just waved a hand before covering her mouth with it. As her breathing settled again, she smiled weakly at James. “As I was saying…” 

“Oh, honey,” James crooned with a sad pout, resting his chin in his hand. “You really aren’t well, are you?” Mindy groaned as she shifted slightly.

“Did Billy go to school alright?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” James said, waving her worries away. “He’s a big boy, he’s got himself sorted, don’t you start fussing. Who do you think called me, anyway?” 

Mindy smiled to herself. “And you actually picked up?” She laughed at the loud raspberry she got in response, only for it to become a pained noise. “Ow,” she whined, face screwed up. “Ribs hurt when I laugh.” 

“Aww, come on, laughter’s supposed to be the best medicine, not make it worse!” James huffed, pouting again. “What am I gonna do with you?” 

“I just need to rest,” Mindy said quietly. “I’d say sleep helps but I kept coughing myself awake last night,” she croaked. James nodded, sympathetically. He reached up and placed the backs of his fingers against her forehead. 

“Yeesch, you’re hotter than Mick right now,” James winced. 

“Thought you always thought I was hot,” Mindy joked weakly. 

“I mean, you’re not wrong,” James giggled, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “You are pretty foxy, Ms Hong.” Mindy chuckled again, hissing and whining as the pain spiked it her ribs at the movement. “I’m doing you more harm than good here, aren’t I?” James said incredulously. “Can you take anything to help?” 

“I haven’t taken any painkillers since yesterday,” Mindy murmured. “And could you do my hot water bottle again for me?” 

“Sure,” James chirped, getting to his feet. “Where is it?” Something wriggled beneath the duvet. “Ah,” James said as a fluffy pink hot water bottle popped out from under the bed covers. “Thank you, I will be right back” he said, taking it and bending down to give his girlfriend a quick little kiss. 

“Nooo,” Mindy whined, despite craning her neck to meet him halfway. “I don’t want to make you ill.” 

“Now that,” James grinned, rubbing the tip of his nose against hers before pecking her on the lips again, “is a risk I am willing to take.” 

“Do you want some breakfast?” James called from the kitchen as the kettle clicked. There was a mumble from Mindy’s bedroom. “What?” Another mumble. “What?” James laughed, sticking his head round her door, screwing the top back onto the hot water bottle.

“I said no, thank you!” Mindy said loudly. “‘M not hungry.” 

“Min, you’ve gotta eat,” James wheedled. 

“‘M not hungry.” 

“Miiin.” 

“No.” 

“Miiiiiiin.” 

Mindy whined, pulling her duvet up over her head. “Don’t make me come in there,” James warned. A muffled retort was returned from beneath the mass of duvet. “I know you aren’t ticklish, but if you think that’s my only strategy then you are wildly underestimating me, madam.” James perched himself carefully next to the bundle of Mindy, crossing one leg over the other and knitted his fingers together on his knee. 

“C’mon, Min, you need to eat to get better. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just something simple.” There was a grunt from beneath the duvet. “Could you manage just a little something?” Another grunt. “C’mon,” James cooed, “for me?” Another, more petulant grunt, answered him. James huffed, blowing a loose strand of wavy hair out of his eyes. _Alright then._

“You know,” he sighed, “Billy would want you to eat something. He just wants you to get better - he was so worried about you this morning. You don’t want him to come home and find out you haven’t eaten all day, do you?” 

The corner of Mindy’s duvet was tugged down and wide, sad eyes peered over the stared at him. “That’s not fair,” she mumbled. James pouted his lips in a little kiss as he bounced off of her bed, snagging a hair tie from her nightstand and twisting his long hair up into a loose bun.

“Oh, I know.”

“It’s the meanest of all your tricks.” 

“Is it really a trick if it’s true? And it is a nice trick,” James said sweetly, tucking the hot water bottle under the edge of the duvet which was quickly snagged and repositioned out of sight. “Because we want you to get well, and if you eat something you can take some aspirin to help the pain, okay?”

“Okay,” Mindy said sulkily. “You’re still a meanie, though.”

“You know it~”

 

James wiggled his hips as he sliced strawberries into quarters, tongue between his teeth as he fought the urge to steal a piece or five. He popped the sliced fruit into a dish and rinsed his hands under the tap after licking them clean, then began routing in the cupboards, humming as he searched for something.

“Tea stuff is in the cupboard above the kettle.” 

“Hey!” James said frowning at Mindy wobbled in the entrance to her bedroom, gripping the door frame firmly. “What are you doing out of bed?” 

Mindy winced as she took a step forward. “I-” 

“Uh uh uh! No! Back to bed for you, madam!”

“James, I-”

“Ah!” James said, striding across the apartment and scooping Mindy up into his arms. “Ill madams get scooped.” 

“James, I have to pee!”

“Ah.” James paused. “Okay then.” He turned on the spot. “And let’s try again-!” 

Mindy snorted softly as James zipped across the apartment to place her on her feet just outside of the bathroom. He turned the handle, bowing low as he opened the door for her. She ruffled his hair as she shuffled past. “You goober.” 

James pulled the bathroom door shut behind her and resumed his cheerful pottering in the kitchen, reboiling the kettle as he fished a mug and a jar of sugar out of the cupboard. He scooped out a teaspoonful of sugar from the jar, tapping a light layer of it over the sliced strawberries, and helping himself to the rest. “Now,” he said, licking his lips as he replaced the jar of sugar and stared at the stacks upon stacks of boxes of tea in Mindy’s cupboard, “I think I need to hold an intervention.”

James glanced over his shoulder toward the bathroom as a violent, rasping cough erupted from behind the door amidst the sound of the toilet flushing. He dropped a teabag into the mug and poured boiling water over it. James had just returned the kettle to its stand when he realised that Mindy’s coughing had turned into violent retching. 

“Mindy! Mindy?” James called through the bathroom door, tapping his knuckles hurriedly against the wood. He tried the handle but the door was locked. “Mindy?” he called against softly when the retching ceased. 

The toilet was flushed again, then there was a click and the door was pulled open. “You can carry me back to bed now,” Mindy mumbled dazedly, face pale and clammy.  


“Oh, honey…” James pulled Mindy into a hug, stroking his fingers over her hair as she buried her burning face into his chest. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, squeezing her shoulders. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

“Do you feel a bit better now you’ve been sick?” James asked tentatively, returning to Mindy’s room with a bucket in hand. “Just in case,” he said, nodding at the bucket as he set it down beside her bed. Mindy shrugged weakly. She was sat up in bed, her head poking out of her duvet that James had hugged around her.

“Bit, I guess, but now my chest hurts too. Pulled a muscle,” she mumbled sadly. “I hate being ill.”

“It sounds nasty,” agreed James. “But! But but but!” he called as he dashed out of the room, returning with a beaming smile, a mug and a bowl in his hands. “I have strawberries and aspirin and Piper tea.”

“Piper tea?” Mindy croaked. 

“Ginger,” James grinned. Mindy closed her eyes, exhaling softly through her nose.

“Of course,” she smiled, taking the mug gratefully from James and tucking it under her duvet tent to cradle it close to her chest. “Thank you, James,” Mindy murmured, blowing on her tea. 

“Anytime, Min.” Mindy smiled wider as a warm kiss was pressed against her temple. She sipped her tea, wedging herself deeper into her pillowy nest as James sat beside her with his back against the headboard, legs outstretched. 

“I thought those strawberries were supposed to be for me?” Mindy asked hopefully. James turned his head to her, blinking innocently at her as he sucked the sugar off of his thumb.

“What, these?” James asked, pointing at the bowl in his hand. “Well, you said you weren’t hungry so…” He slid the bowl over, suppressing a self-satisfied smirk as it disappeared under the duvet.

Sometimes his tricks are elaborate cons, sometimes they are clever disguises, sometimes they explode, and sometimes they just involve choosing the right food to wave under his sick girlfriend’s nose to make sure she eats.

 

 _Dad, you are the worst texter,_ Billy thought as he twisted his keys in the lock and shouldered the door open. He dropped his bag and kicked off his shoes, scrambling to scoop them off the floor and arranging them neatly beside the black boots by the mat. _Well, he’s still here at least,_ he noted, scratching his head as he checked his phone reflexively. _Hope Mom’s been okay._

He padded across the apartment in his socks, towards his mom’s bedroom. Billy stuck his nose round the door, his worried face cracking into a bright smile in an instant. 

His mom was curled up in bed, an empty bowl and mug on the nightstand beside her. She was no longer cocooned in her duvet, instead lying peacefully on her side, one hand resting on top of the duvet. Well, almost. His dad lay beside her, one arm tucked under his head as he slept on top of the covers next to her. His other hand was resting between them, and her hand was over his, theirs fingers curled together.

Billy slipped backwards, pulling the door quietly shut with him. He scooted into the living room on his socks, took a deep breath and silently cheered, punching the air with both hands. Lindsay Lohan had _nothing_ on him.

**Author's Note:**

> A glimpse at what James' con-artistry looks like when used for good ~
> 
> Featuring Billy who is eager to remake 'The Parent Trap'.


End file.
